[Hyaluronic acid. Usefulness and perspectives of its serum assay]

Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan or HA) is a major component of connective tissue synthesized by fibroblasts. Some progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of its metabolism, regulation and physiological role. The development of specific and sensitive assay methods has shown that the HA plasma level is increased in a wide variety of disorders. This increase may be due to decrease hepatic clearance, excessive synthesis (systemic sclerosis, inflammatory arthropathies, psoriasis, cancers, etc.), or even to an increased hyaluronidase activity in certain cancers. The major use of HA assays at the moment is in the evaluation of the evolutivity of those diseases where the HA increase relates to their activity. It seems to be of no diagnostic activity, at least for the time being.